5. Dillon Gabriel (Oregon)
Grade: Day three
After a lengthy college football career that was spent with three different teams, starting in 2019 with UCF before transferring to Oklahoma and finally spending one season with the Oregon Ducks, Gabriel is well-traveled.
During his travels, he has developed himself into a quality, point guard-esque quarterback who understands his strengths and weaknesses well enough to have success in all the spots he has played.
These strengths include a lightning-quick release and deadly accurate passes to all levels delivered with perfect timing early in the play. In addition, he is a decent athlete who has no issue making the play with his legs. Truthfully, in a system similar to Mike McDaniel’s in Miami, Gabriel could find success in the NFL rather quickly.
What will prevent Gabriel from getting drafted highly, however, is the clear ceiling presented with a passer of his style. His arm is well below average in terms of both generating velocity and simple, down-the-field arm strength, limiting the style of offense he can run at the next level and exacerbating the need for elite talent around him.
Perhaps the most problematic part of his game is his responses to pressure. As with most quarterbacks who have limited arm talent, it is hard for Gabriel to escape the pocket and consistently make plays with his arm. Furthermore, finding proper escape lanes is often a problem for him.
Gabriel will almost certainly start games in the NFL at some point and might even win a few of them. Alas, his ceiling is much closer to the 20th best quarterback in the NFL than it is a Super Bowl winner, and it is hard to see a team signing themselves up for the dreaded quarterback purgatory.